Dr. Triloki Nath Khoshoo

Dr. Triloki Nath Khoshoo

(27 April 1927-10 June 2002)

Dr. Triloki Nath Khoshoo, founder trustee of ATREE, was a world-renowned environmental scientist and an able administrator. Dr. Khoshoo started his professional career as co-founder of the Department of Botany at the Punjab University, Lahore, which moved to Khalsa College, Amritsar, soon after the partition of India. After a brief stint as Chairman of the Botany Department at Jammu and Kashmir University, he joined the National Botanical Gardens, Lucknow, in 1964 as Assistant Director. He soon became the Director, and due to his untiring efforts, the institution rose to the stature of being the National Botanical Research Institute in 1978.

Dr Khoshoo became the first Secretary of the newly created Department of Environment of the Government of India in 1982, with the responsibility of developing an Environment Policy for the country. In 1985, he joined the Tata Energy Research Institute as a Distinguished Fellow and contributed to public policy discussions at national as well as international forums. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1992 and the Sasakawa Environment Prize by the United Nations Environment Programme in 1996.

Dr. Khoshoo was a prolific writer. Over the course of five decades, he authored more than 250 research papers on plant genetics and evolution, biomass, energy, forestry, conservation and, the utilisation and management of natural resources. He has written seven books and edited eleven more on a wide range of subjects. His book 'Mahatma Gandhi: An Apostle of Applied Human Ecology', published in 1996, was widely applauded for his interpretation of the practical relevance of Gandhian views.

The Khoshoo Memorial Award in Conservation, Environment and Development is given to an individual in the field of conservation and sustainable development. The award is a peer-level public recognition of excellence in the fields of conservation science, conservation policy and conservation action.

The Memorial Award consists of a citation and a cash prize of Rs 100,000/- each. A scholar of international standing is invited to deliver the Khoshoo Memorial Lecture after the award ceremonies.

The TN Khoshoo Memorial Award for 2014 goes to Prof Mahesh Rangarajan, researcher and historian, and Director of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. The 11th award ceremony will be held in Bangalore, at the Alliance Française on Thursday, 6 November 2014.

This time, instead of the TN Khoshoo memorial Lecture, the organizers have planned a panel discussion on a topic that is crucial to discussions on environment: ‘Challenges to conservation in the context of a pro-growth development agenda’. The panel discussion will feature Prof Rangarajan; Praveen Bhargav, Managing Trustee, Wildlife First; and Vidya Athreya, Research Associate, Centre for Wildlife Studies and Wildlife Conservation Society– India chapter, and recipient of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award in 2012. The discussion will be moderated by Shri Jairam Ramesh, who is also Chief Guest for the evening.

The earth is our only home. She nurtures and sustains the mystery of life. But can she take more? We need earthians to take care of her. Be an earthian. This is the definition of earthian as per Wipro’s new sustainability programme for schools and colleges. Since TN Khoshoo Ecology and Environment Award for Schools, which called for action to create impact in environmental consciousness, shares a vision similar to the earthian, we are joining with Wipro (also one of our partners for last year’s Khoshoo School Awards) to be part of their larger outreach exercise with schools and colleges through the through the TN Khoshoo-earthian Trophy. 'earthian Sustainability Program for Schools and Colleges' is designed to act as a catalyst for fostering excellence in sustainability thinking and doing amongst youth. The annual awards programme is a first step towards a deeper engagement with children and young adults in schools and colleges.

Therefore, from this year (2011-12), the TN Khoshoo Ecology and Environment Award for Schools will be part of the Wipro earthian awards, and will be called the TN Khoshoo-earthian Trophy. The TN Khoshoo-earthian Trophy will additionally recognize one school and one college from among the 10 earthian winning submissions, which show a higher degree of feasibility, practical implement-ability and contextual understanding. ATREE will also partner Wipro as a knowledge partner in the field of environment, development and conservation, for the earthian awards.

What the TN Khoshoo-earthian recognition will mean to the school

ATREE has the advantage of being able to offer field ecologists, conservationists, social scientists and policy affiliates as a knowledge resource to teachers and students. ATREE will partner the winning institutes to build capacities in understanding environment, development and conservation aspects through contributions to the institute library, lectures and field based programmes. These will be built through an interactive process between ATREE and the school/ college, and tailored to meet requirements in expanding learning on these topics. The winning school and college participants will also be invited to the TN Khoshoo Memorial Lecture and Awards ceremony.

The Khoshoo Endowment Fund and ATREE, along with The Teacher Foundation, Wipro, IAIM-FRLHT and Pravah launched the TN Khoshoo Ecology and Environment Award for Schools in 2010. This award was instituted to recognize schools that enabled innovative, creative activity that promotes environmental consciousness and thoughtful action.

Recipients of the TN Khoshoo Ecology and Environment Award for Schools 2011

The TN Khoshoo Ecology and Environment Award for Schools promote environmental thought and action—with emphasis on action. Schools are selected for the creativity and implementation of projects geared towards locally relevant environmental and ecological issue. This year, two schools from Bangalore—KK English High School (first prize) and Sri Vani Education Center (second prize), and two schools from Delhi, Salwan Public School (first prize) and Father Agnel School (second prize), have been awarded the TN Khoshoo Ecology and Environment Award for Schools.

Salwan Public School – Delhi 1st Place

The students of Salwan Public School, which claimed first place for raising eco-consciousness, called their project ‘Parivartan’. The aim of the school was to make neighbourhood residents and shopkeepers aware of the negatives associated with the use of plastic, and provide options for plastic. The school distributed cloth bags recycled from old clothes.

The students disseminated pamphlets amongst evening walkers and carried out a door-to-door campaign. They set up a mobile stall with two tailors who stitched cloth bags. The stall ran for three days – a different location on each day – and attracted the attention of the Senior Scientific Officer from the Ministry of the Environment, Dr. B. C. Sabata and Mr. Peter Andre, a representative of Tetra Pak. The students also organized a zero-waste lunch at a local eatery called ‘Udupi Eating House’.

KK English High School – Bangalore 1st Place

The KK English High School was awarded first place for implementing a solid waste management project in their school. The students crafted a campaign for wet and dry waste management. The campaign was aimed at teachers, students, local residents and corporations—with information on segregation, recycling and disposal. The school scheduled a ‘plastic day’ once a week during which plastic was collected and passed on to KK Plastics to be recycled. The students of KK English High School collected 1500 kilograms of plastic during their project period.

Father Agnel School – Delhi 2nd Place

Father Agnel School came second place with their initiative titled, ‘Kabaad se Jugaad’. This involved creating a no waste environment by recycling waste generated in the school to make useful products. To do this, they prepared alum crystals using aluminium extracted from waste aluminium foil and tetra packs. The alum crystals could be used as a natural astringent. They made products like curtains, coasters, table mats, slippers, and photo frames using discarded tetra packs. Organic waste was used to make floor cleanser for rust and permanent marker stains. Note pads and folders were made with waste paper and cardboard, old cotton dupattas, jute strings, and natural glue.

Sri Vani Education Center – Bangalore 2nd Place

The students of Sri Vani Education Center were awarded the TN Khoshoo Ecology and Environment Award for Schools for their thorough research on waste management. The school documented their learning on film, and shared it through art projects, theatre and audiovisual medium.

Salwan Public School, Rajinder Nagar, Delhi, and K K High School, Varthur, Bengaluru bagged first place; and Father Agnel School from Gautam Nagar, Delhi, Sri Vani Education Centre (SVEC), Basaveshwarnagar, Bengaluru, won second place for their projects.

Salwan Public School did a project called ‘Parivartan’. The students got a tailor to stitch cloth bags from old clothes and gifted these bags to the residents of their area to use as an alternative to plastic bags. This simple project generated a lot of awareness and positive response from residents of that area. Father Agnel School’s project was on waste management. They created utility products such as folders, floor cleanser from the waste generated in their school to make it a zero waste school. In Bengaluru, both winning entries had done commendable work on waste management. K K High School’s well thought out campaign for dry and wet waste management had a wide impact, as it was carried to school, teacher, locality, and corporate audiences through the efforts of the students. SVEC students visited dump sites and investigated the problems related to waste management. They documented their efforts in segregating waste and composting in a film.

The mela provided shortlisted schools a platform to showcase, interact and learn through peer group discussions. Student representatives from each school gave a presentation to the audience of teachers and children from other participating schools, judges and staff from ATREE. The children gave an account of the purpose, sustainability and methodology of their projects. The winning schools will be given a cash award and trophy at a ceremony during the Khoshoo Memorial Award in Conservation, Environment and Development 2011, to be held in October this year in Delhi. This award honours environmentalists and practitioners for outstanding achievements in the areas of conservation, environment and sustainable development.

Coordinating organisations - Pravah, in Delhi, and ATREE, in Bengaluru, started their interactions with schools in July 2010, briefing schools on the long-term objectives of the school awards, and guiding them through the processes for participation. The efforts of the students, schools and the organisers were showcased in interactive Environment Melas in Delhi and Bengaluru on 24th January and 28th February 2011 respectively. The winners of TN Khoshoo Ecology and Environment Awards for Schools 2011 were announced here. The criteria for winning were impact, sustainability of the idea, replicability, and creativity.